Be Ye Not Deceived

Ephesians 5:6: Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience (AKJV).

Haddon Robinson, in Biblical Preaching, shared this story about a Chinese boy who wanted to learn about jade. So, the boy went to study with a talented old teacher. On the first day of the training, the gentle man put a piece of the precious stone into the boy’s hand and told him to hold it tight. Then he began to talk of philosophy, about men, women, the sun and almost everything under it. After an hour he took back the precious stone and sent the boy home. The procedure was repeated for several weeks. The boy became frustrated. When would he be told about the jade? He was too polite, however, to question the wisdom of his venerable teacher. Then one day, when the old man put a stone into his hands, the boy cried out instinctively, “But, Teacher, I know this not jade!'"

Indeed, the longer we hold on to the Word of God, the easier it is for us to know what is true gospel and what is false.

Ephesians 5 talks about life that is both in darkness and in slumber (Ephesians 5:8; Ephesians 5:14). Paul identified the reasons to call the Ephesian believers as deep sleeper and dead. There is fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness among Ephesian believers (Ephesians 5:3). There is also filthy, foolish talking, jesting (Ephesians 5:4), and a comfortable partaking of the worldly activities and wickedness (Ephesians 5:7, 11) among the Ephesian believers.

Then, there is an easy falling for deception through vain words among the Ephesian believers (Ephesians 5:6).

Let us look at the problems with the Ephesian believers. The Ephesian believers allow themselves to be deceived with vain words. Allowing themselves to be deceived with these vain words is tantamount to disobedience. And because of disobedience, the wrath of God is upon those who allow such deception.

Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience (AKJV).

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines the verb deceive as to mislead, to cause someone to believe what is false, or to cause someone to disbelieve what is true. It can also mean to cheat, to disappoint, to delude, to ensnare, to beguile, or to lead astray. In some cases, it means to amuse in order to divert attention.

In both the Old and New Testaments, the term deceive denotes some deliberate misleading from spiritual truths. The first Greek word for deceive is “nasha”, which means to lead astray (Jeremiah 29:8; Revelations 12:9). In both of these verses, false prophets and Satan himself are deceivers who lead people astray, who mislead people in their spiritual walk. The second Greek word that means deceive is “pathah”, which means to entice, or to persuade (Jeremiah 20:7).

Deception comes the pride of the heart (Jeremiah 49:16). Jeremiah simply rings the message of God concerning Edom. The pride of the heart of the Edomites had led them astray into thinking that they can be loftier than God. God brought them down from their lofty spirits.

            The Ephesian believers were easily deceived by vain words. The word vain means empty, foolish, or senseless (Matthew 6:7; Job 15:2; 1 Corinthians 15:14; Exodus 20:7). In Exodus 20:7, it specifically means empty in purpose.

Jesus Christ has a warning for deception (Matthew 24:4-5; Mark 13:5-6). In both Matthew 24 and Mark 13, Jesus Christ Himself commanded believers to stop being deceived. They are to stop being deceived by the message and the lifestyle of false teachers. Paul likewise warned the Ephesian believers to watch out for false teachers (Ephesians 5:6).

The deception for believers always involves teachings that are devoid of truth. Vain words here is liken to a vessel that has nothing in it. The translation for “word” here is popularly a word, which also mean saying, account, or speech. The deception through vain words here pertains to the sins mentioned in verses 3, 4, and 5, which are fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, jesting, etc.

Two of the most popular worldly teachings of humans and human life has the characteristics of these deceptions. The first one is what is called the libertine teachings, which are teachings devoid of moral principles or a sense of responsibility especially in sexual matters. Here are some of the libertine teachings:

Our souls are saved by grace, so what we do with our bodies, which

will only perish, does not matter.”

“Yes, Jesus is Savior but he does not have to be Lord of your life.

Salvation can be yours simply by giving mental approval to certain

facts about Christianity. You do not need repentance or saving faith or any

change in behavior. You can continue to live as before and still be a Christian.”

A libertine is a person who disregards morality, especially sexual matter, as he has the liberty to do what he wants to do with sex.

Another teaching is called Gnosticism. Gnostics believed the material world was created as evil and corrupted. All matter is evil, and the non-material, spirit-realm is good.

Other teachings of Gnosticism include:

There is an unknowable God, who gave rise to many lesser

spirit beings called Aeons.

Jesus was considered a spirit, not actual flesh.

Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit in both Gnosticism and

Christianity, but in Gnosticism the Holy Spirit was the "feminine" or

female aspect of God. Thus, the Holy Spirit was the true "mother"

of Jesus.

One evil, lower spirit being is the creator who made the

universe.

Gnosticism does not deal with 'sin', only ignorance.

To achieve salvation, one needs to get in touch with secret

knowledge.

The deception for believers are always the teachings that are devoid of truth. Paul warned the Ephesian believers to watch out for deception, for to be deceived is to receive the wrath of God.

Isn’t God a loving God? Doesn’t the Scripture speak about a God who loves and a God of second chances?

But this is the wrath of God. The wrath of God can be temporal judgement (John 3:36; Romans 2:8-9; Colossians 3:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:16), or eschatological judgment (Matthew 25:31; Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). God is angry for a reason. He is angry with the way humankind treats His word (Galatians 6:7).

We need to fully understand the Scriptural basis of the wrath of God. In Deuteronomy 5:9, we read, “thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me”. Sometimes we use this as an illustration of the wrath of God, He being a stern, angry God. Yet we simply forgot the other half of the Scripture.

For Deuteronomy 5:9-10 can be completely appreciated as, “thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

As judgement runs through the fourth generation, but God’s mercy runs through a thousand generations.

God created the universe as a moral entity. Just as the courts of law are necessary in a society, so is judgment necessary in a moral universe.

Along with the creation of the moral universe, God also created covenants with His people. And these covenants are based on obedience as obedience is a characteristic of God’s children and disobedience is a characteristic of Satan’s followers.

Paul instructed the Ephesian believers on how to live their lives of faith. Paul here is also instructing us on how to live life in faith. Paul is warning us to be aware of vain words that justify sin our lives. Paul is reminding us that instead of imitating the world, we should imitate Jesus Christ. He is reminding us that instead of allowing ourselves to be controlled by the world, we should be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

 .                    When we allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives, our lifestyle, our speech, our conversations, our thoughts, and our desires, then we can submit to one another out of respect for Jesus Christ. This is a very powerful witness to the world.